Marine bow hand rail mount removable ladder

ABSTRACT

The first Marine Bow Hand Rail Mount Removable Ladder. You simply screw the permanent mount to the hand rail in the front (bow) of the boat. Because of my unique new tongue and groove design you can easily and safely slide on the Removable Ladder to exit and enter the front (bow) and simply slide off the Removable Ladder for easy storage on board your vessel.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to the marine/boating industry. I found as aboat owner, it was nearly impossible and unsafe to get in and out of thefront (bow) of the boat when at the beach or sand bar, or to retrieve alure casted and hung up on the shore. Choices for exit or entry from thebow include leaping or crawling over the bow, all of which are difficultand can cause injury. The MARINE BOW HANDRAIL MOUNT REMOVABLE LADDERsolves these problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Previous ladders manufactured for the purpose of exit and entry from thebow, were made of ropes or metal universal use hook ladders that provedunstable and difficult to use. Other choices were the more stable rearladders or swim platforms, but were not feasible due to their placementon the vessel, in the deep water, when the bow was at the shoreline.Thus requiring the passenger to swim to the shore after exiting the rearladder. The MARINE BOW HANDRAIL MOUNT REMOVABLE LADDER is a userfriendly, safe exit and entry off the bow ladder, easily attached to thepermanent rail mount and is removable for easy storage on board, leavingthe permanent mount in place and ready for the next shore excursion.

The ladder and mount is a simple tongue and groove slide design thatprovides stabilization and simplicity for easy bow access. It can beadjusted to fit any vessel with a handrail. This can be 3 or 4 steps inlength depending on the bow height.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Drawing 1 of 3 is my invention of the first ever Bow Ladder and Mountwith hardware is securely attached to the hand rail on the bow (front)of the boat, either side (starboard or port). The ladder easily slidesin and out of the mount for a secure fit by means of my own design Icall a tongue and groove fit. The tongue is shown on Drawing 2 of 3 aspart of the ladder and the groove is shown on Drawing 3 of 3 as part ofthe mount. All material is made of Marine Grade Aluminum and hardware isstainless steel. Drawing 2 of 3 shows the Removable Ladder. In FIG. 1 atthe top of the ladder is the tongue. One of the most critical parts ofthe claim, yet one of the simplest. In FIG. 1, a piece of ¼″×1″ flatstock radius on one end and with 3 holes drilled through and recessedfor flat head screws. In FIG. 1 the tongue (1) gets screwed to the ⅜″×2″main frame (2) of the ladder. Each step is cut and filed from the samematerial, ⅜″×2″ flatstock, 10 inches in length, 5 inches on either sideof the main frame. First step on ladder is 16″ from top, which meansmachining a ⅜″×1″ deep slot in the main frame on a 80 degree angle,center step within this slot and weld on both sides. Each following stepis 9″ between steps with the same ⅜″×1″ deep slot per step, 4 steps, fora total frame length of 44″. All material is sawcut and machines on abridgeport mill. This ladder was designed to handle a 300 poundcapacity. Drawing 3 of 3 shows the mount, the most critical part of theclaim. This is a one of a kind that makes this claim so patentable. InFIG. 1 this mount has two very important purposes. A) It mounts to all⅞″ or 1″ diameter bow hand rails. B) Has the groove machined on theother side to except and secure the tongue of the ladder.

This is actually 2 aluminum blocks cut from (1½″×2″ stock) 1-1 5/8″ longand 1 7/8″ long. Blocks are screwed together with two allen head screws(¼″-20×1″), ¼″ from top center and ¼″ from bottom center as shown inFIG. 4. The 1″ diameter handrail hole gets drilled through and centeredbetween the two ¼″ screws 1″ from bottom and centered between the twoblocks as in FIG. 1A.

The Groove, FIG. 1B is now machined on the other end of the block whichexcepts and secures the tongue part of the ladder. The Groove is a 2step process also done on a mill.

1) Center and cut, 12″ slot, ¼″ deep through block.

2) Using milling cutters—Center and cut groove 5/16″×1.015″ to acceptladder tongue, stopping ¼″ from bottom as seen in FIGS. 2 & 3. This iswhat stops the tongue from falling thru the groove.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to the Marina/Boating industry. I found as aboat owner it was nearly impossible and unsafe to get in and out of thefront/bow of the boat when at the beach or sandbar. Previous laddermanufacturers for the purpose of exit and intry from the bow were madeof rope or metal universal use. Other choices are the rear ladder swimplatform, but were not feasible due to their placement on the vessel, inthe deep, cold water. Thus requiring the passenger to swim to the shore.

The Marine Bow Hand Rail Mount Removable Ladder is a user friendly safeexit and entry off the bow ladder. It is easily attached (with, to) thepermanent rail mount and is removable for easy storage on board leavingthe permanent mount in place and ready for the next shore excursion.

The ladder and mount is a simple tongue and groove slide design thatprovides stabilization and simplicity for easy bow access. It can beadjusted to fit any vessel with a handrail. This can be a 3 or 4stepladder in length depending on the bow height. All material is madeof a lightweight, high strength marine grade aluminum that is assembledwith stainless steel screws. Only 3 different sizes of metal stock needbe punched to assemble one complete design. (¼″×1″, ⅜×2″ flat stock,1½″×2″ rectangle). All pieces are of saw cut, machine milling (CNC),welded and screwed for final assembly.

1) what I claim as my invention is that this is the first of its kind,marine/bow hand rail mount with my own unique tongue and groove designmount. 2) What I claim as my invention is a removable 3 or 4 step ladderwhich simply slides in or out with my own unique tongue and groovedesign on the Hand Rail Mount (1), able to securely hold a body weightof 300 #, making a safe exit and entry off the front (bow) of the boat.